Psychiatry Resident and Program Director Perceptions of Neuroscience

Abstract

The goal of this survey was to gain an understanding of perceptions and experiences of neuroscience for psychiatry residents. We administered a 30-item online survey. One hundred and nineteen participants responded, allowing for a margin of error of 8.4% at a 95% confidence interval. Half of respondents felt they were receiving adequate training in neuroscience (48%), with most reporting opportunities to participate in neuroscientific research (64.6%). However, few felt prepared to translate neuroscientific findings into practice (33%). Almost half of the participants indicated that the Royal College should develop a specific neuroscience curriculum (46%). These findings are subject to limitations inherent in survey studies, including possible bias of who responds and how responses are based off the participant's perception of their own training environment, and the intent of the questions in the survey. Overall, findings support the idea that changes are needed to improve neuroscience literacy among residents in psychiatry.